Simply put, the graphics are pretty good. There is something to be said for the effective use of virtual light and perspective to enhance the visual consumption. The swinging motion looks quite realistic, and the developer seems to have really studied related motion. The background imagery is nice too, with the requisite green coloring holding sway. The color separation works to shape the look of the fairways and such too.

Secondarily, the customization options are fun to manipulate, and options include the ability to adjust facial features and skin tone. This helps users develop somewhat of a personal stake in the game, I think.

After one wades through the playing options, the play itself is logical… almost too much so, in fact. In single player, a lot of the gameplay is based on challenges. Their are enough, and there is a sense that they are achievable. The actual game mechanism is what is interesting. there is a gauge controlling power at the bottom, and manipulating it for the long drives involves precise dual taps: one to get distance and the other to tweak direction. When tapped at the right points, the screen announces the perfect shot and bonus points are assigned. The short game is intricate in different ways, allowing for wind elements and lay of the hole. Working the meter effectively takes some practice, but is relatively fun. The action segment feels well thought out.

The sundry items feel a bit busy though. There’s the heart system, for instance. Hearts are the currency for playing, and are a consumable resource. There are ways to earn them, but if one get into the game for a few games, they’ll be gone, at which point you can buy some or wait for time replenishment. There are upgradable attributes, of course, and they do make the game easier, but I would have likes a more straightforward equipping method. There are plenty of bonuses for doing the challenges and interacting with Facebook friends, for example.

In conclusion, fun game either long term or in the doctor’s office, and not too many games can boast that.

Some people are fonts of utterly useless knowledge. We’ve all met them, the sort of person who knows what the currency of the former Yugoslavia was before it broke apart, or who can tell you the name of the man the Wright Brothers bought the screws from that went into building the work bench that they used to prop up a part of Wright Flyer II whilst they built it. If you’d like to join the hallowed ranks of the know-it-alls, then Quiz Quest could well be for you. In it, you have to answer a variety of multiple choice questions, from the obscure to the mathematical, the obvious to the geographical. Not just that, you can also challenge people from all over the globe in brain power contests.

The game is pretty simple in its execution. At the start of each round, you pick one of two categories, then answer questions that relate to that category. The quicker you answer the questions, the more points you receive, the more points you receive, the more you can bask in the adulation of your peers. Or something along those lines.

To answer a question, you tap the screen. Get it right and you’re greeted with a cheery chime, get it wrong and it’s a solemn vibration and a flash of despondent red. Shame on you for not knowing the answer to that question, the game says, shame on you. You hang your head, swear an oath to the knowledge gods and move on to the next brain teaser.

Quiz Quest is a nice app, though it could do with a make over. At the moment, it looks a little dowdy and defeated, with menus and screens that don’t have that squeaky clean sheen that the very best can boast about.

Once you’re over the ugly hump, Quiz Quest is a lot of fun. There are a few problems, such as geographical questions without enough geographical information to answer, but they’re few and far between. If you want to become a learned lady or gent, you should point your phone in Quiz Quest’s direction now.

Working out your brain has become a bit of a fad in recent years. Kicked off by Dr. Kawashima and his floating head, it seems there’s a lot of money to be made making people incrementally smarter than they were before they picked up your game. If you can make them have a good time whilst they expand their intellect, then you’ve basically found the holy grail of mobile gaming.

Size Matters! is a brain training game of sorts, albeit a pared down one. There’s a single activity to tickle your grey matter, and that involves deciding, at speed, which of the two things you’re presented with is the largest. You might get numbers, sums, objects, weights or periods of time, but you only get three lives per go, and once you’ve used them, it’s back to the main menu to start again.

It sounds like a simple enough premise, but there’s a timer ticking away and you have to make a snap decisions about questions like which is longer: the gestation period, in days, of an elephant or the number of minutes in a year; the tension really starts to kick in. at this point. You answer the questions by tapping on-screen on the choice that you think is the largest.

There are three levels of difficulty, each offering a variety of obscure sizes, lengths of time and other measures over which you can deliberate. A high score system is in place, as well as a challenge system, that lets you compete against other players to find out who’s the best at knowing the sizes of things.

Size Matters! isn’t the best looking game out there, nor is it the most complex, but it does have a down to earth charm that makes it a winner. It’s fun, spectacularly easy to play and, perhaps most importantly, will hone your brain reflexes as you play. That’s not too bad for a game that doesn’t cost anything.

How many of you managed to score Google I/O tickets in the 59 minutes registration was open? Given the events record sell-out time, I’m guessing not too many. For everyone who missed out, stop pawning your valuables and hoping to win one of those $2,000 dollar Ebay bids and start marking your calenders for Wednesday, March 16th. That is the starting date for Google’s “we love developers” Last Call for Google I/O contest.